The value of tension

Posted by Ann Deaton Share Your Voice

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.  --Albert Einstein

Einstein was obviously a brilliant man, and yet I think that in trying to resolve the tension between knowledge and imagination, Einstein missed the boat. That's understandable because we tend to think of tension as a negative thing to be minimized or avoided. Yet, tension exists when we value more than one thing simultaneously. Is that necessarily bad?

As a leader you will need to access both knowledge and imagination. Each is essential to your success. According to a growing body of research, using polarity management, or what Burger and others call "dilemma reconciliation, can enable leaders to harness this tension. Leadership issues can often be made more explicit and resolvable by identifying the tension between two desirable poles. In contrast to problem solving, this approach enables you to access the potential of two sometimes competing priorities. In the case of imagination and knowledge, polarity management enables you to leverage the groundedness of knowledge and the innovative power of imagination. To learn more, read Barry Johnson's book on polarity management or Burger's 2008 article on dilemmas. Mastering this kind of and/both thinking is a wonderful way to access and channel the diversity of teams.

⇐ Previous Post: Labyrinth Girls Explor... Next Post: VCU Brand Center Stude... ⇒

Ann Deaton I am a leadership coach, and Managing Partner in Bounce. I love to coach and facilitate with individuals and systems experiencing significant change and growth. The clients I work with, regardless of their age or position, are talented and creative individuals willing to look with fresh eyes at their challenges and opportunities, and to take action based on their discoveries. As a result, they find that they are capable of accomplishing far greater things than they ever imagined. What do you want to accomplish today? Who do you want to be?